


tell me what it is like

by SEpupppupp (ForNought)



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band), 创造101 | Produce 101 (China TV), 火箭少女 | Rocket Girls (Band)
Genre: Drabble Collection, Multi, a very vague and mundane au, there's a bonus pairing or two in there idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 14:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15269004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForNought/pseuds/SEpupppupp
Summary: (partially) unrelated drabbles





	tell me what it is like

**Author's Note:**

> the idea came from [angel genius merryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jxxhyxns/pseuds/jxxhyxns)  
> a selection of prompts were lifted from [conceptsbot](https://twitter.com/conceptsbot) and this may or may not have been written with [someone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fir8008/pseuds/fir8008) in mind

## now discuss interests with another human in a grocery store 

It is cliche and Daniel has been waiting around for something he has been hoping would happen for a while. Daniel lets his hand linger outstretched as he looks to see who else has been blessed with this late morning serendipity. 

“Sorry.”

It is a guy Daniel thinks might even be one of his neighbours. He’s cute and he looks a bit embarrassed about the incident but this is just what Daniel wants. 

“You can take the milk,” Daniel says as he passes the bottle over. “Or maybe we could split it.”

“You want us to drink two pints of milk each?”

Daniel guesses he hasn’t quite worked out what he wanted to say. Or the intent isn’t quite right. But the maybe neighbour is smiling and smiling is always good. The maybe neighbour inspects the bottle of milk before he says, “We would have to get creative with recipes so it doesn’t get boring.”

“We could make ice cream,” Daniel suggests. 

“I actually have an ice cream maker at home.”

“No way!” This might be the best thing Daniel has ever heard. “I have always wanted one of those. How much ice cream would four pints of milk make?”

“I am not sure. I haven’t been able to use it yet.”

That sounds like a crime. If Daniel had an ice cream maker he would use it every single day and he isn’t afraid of saying as much. 

“What sort of ice cream would you make if you made ice cream every day?”

“I would make all my meals into ice cream, of course. And I would probably make ice cream for my cats too.”

“You’d make ice cream for your cats? Even though they can’t have milk?”

Daniel hadn’t thought about that. That’s sad. His cats should be able to eat ice cream too. They should be able to eat fish ice cream and chicken ice cream and whatever dry food is made of ice cream. But this cute maybe neighbour is super kind and considerate of Daniel’s cats.

“There might be recipes with lactose free milk that we could try. I mean-”

“I’m Daniel. I would love to make cat ice cream with you.”

Daniel isn’t the only one nervously laughing at his weird interruption. 

“I’m Jisung.” 

Daniel is already mentally writing up cat-friendly ice cream and he hopes they’ll be able to make Jisung-friendly ice cream too.

##  run away with an old friend 

It feels like it has been too long. Kenta has travelled so much and mingled with so many people that Insoo has never known. Insoo wonders whether any fragments of their friendship remain, whether things unique to them clung to Kenta and whether he shook them away carelessly or fastened them tight so he could still remember their jokes and dumb anecdotes that only they fully understand. 

It is the same to embrace him though. Kenta’s fingertips press into Insoo’s back, blunt claws that have always anchored Insoo here and allowed him to wait for all this to return. Insoo has waited and waited and nothing has changed. Maybe. 

“I missed you,” Kenta says and, “we have so much to catch up on.”

Insoo doesn’t want to catch up. Not just yet. They have however long this lunch lasts for Insoo to delay hearing all the things that would make him jealous, of all the people that were there while Kenta was busy changing and living. Insoo has been living too but for all the foundations and all the steps he has gone through to build his own brand of sufficiency just holding Kenta in his arms has him thinking that it was all transitory.

Insoo decides to be good. He chats lightly with Kenta while they choose what to order and whilst they eat he tries to react in all the right places to all the stories Kenta has. He has seen so much and met so many people and he has made deep impressions which shan’t be eroded by time so easily. It is impressive. Insoo is very impressed. His own stories taste bland in his mouth so he spits them out quickly and chews more food and wonders whether he could ever say anything to impress Kenta. 

“You’ve changed so much,” Kenta says. Insoo’s ego indicates a note of awe which he wishes would really exist. “You haven’t lost your ambitions though.”

Insoo doesn’t remember having any ambitions worth mentioning but he takes what he assumes to be a compliment. 

“You’re still as adventurous as ever,” Insoo says lightly. 

“Not really,” Kenta says. “I always end up somewhere that a friend wants to be.”

“Maybe it is your turn to want to be somewhere.”

Kenta looks uncomprehending and Insoo quite likes that even if it forces him to say things he could have avoided for his whole life. Insoo pretends to check his phone because he isn’t a desperate man. He is just someone with bad ideas and the need for someone to let him have many more.

“I don’t have any plans after this. Do you?” Insoo asks. Kenta doesn’t have plans either, indicates as much with a short shake of his head, and Insoo lets himself grin across the table. “Let’s go somewhere. Anywhere you want to be. Just for a short while. It is your turn to decide an adventure.”

The suggestion hangs in the air and Insoo feels a lot less grand about it when the waitress brings over coffee for after the meal and tells them to wave her over when they would like the bill. Kenta sips his coffee before he adds a sachet of sugar and a splash of milk. He tries it again, satisfied. 

“There are a few places I would like to go,” he says. “Give me a minute to think of where first.”

Insoo could give Kenta all the minutes he needs. Instead he waves the waitress back over and pays for the meal quickly. Kenta looks flustered as they leave and Insoo says, “Just give me directions when we drive and we’ll see where that takes us first.” 

##  now eat pizza in the cinema 

“Why aren't you telling me what we are going to see?” Meiqi asks. She had hoped to get a clue whilst at the counter so she didn't complain much before but all Yamy ordered was a large Sprite Zero. She isn't a fan of the fact that after waiting in line for so long she is still none the wiser. 

“It's just a dumb action movie,” Yamy shrugs. She adjusts the bag she is carrying on her opposite shoulder and sips from one of the straws she had stabbed into the drink at the counter. “Is it such a big deal?”

It is a big deal because a person usually goes to the cinema with intent to watch something specific. Even if Meiqi doesn't strictly plan on watching the film (kissing Yamy seems a lot more appealing than even the biggest blockbusters at the box office) she would still like to know what she needs to search for online so she can lie about paying attention when asked. The not being able to know is making this worse. She knows that realistically she doesn’t care at all but she had been hoping to fake her surprise at the counter when Yamy ordered the tickets but she didn’t order any and now Meiqi is oddly annoyed. 

“Are we even seeing a movie?” Meiqi asks, her suspicions pointing to this obvious but strange conclusion. 

“Of course we are.”

“You didn’t buy any tickets,” Meiqi points out.

“I booked the tickets online,” Yamy laughs. “Stop being so weird.”

Meiqi doesn’t think that she is the one being weird but she stops her line of questioning all the same. Yamy isn’t lying after all. Yamy searches for her phone in her big bag and shows something to get scanned so that they are admitted to an auditorium to be seated. 

“Are you going to tell me what it is yet?” Meiqi asks very sweetly once they are sitting down near the back corner of the auditorium. Yamy is boring and slurps from the drink positioned in the armrest between them. Meiqi is even leaning on Yamy’s shoulder and being generally cute but it still doesn’t give her a better answer. 

“Why do you care so much? Are you going to actually watch it?”

“Are you not?” Meiqi asks. It is an odd question for Yamy to have thrown at her seeing as she is so engrossed in the trailers. But Yamy doesn’t say whether or not she will watch the film and Meiqi feels a bit like sulking because of the circumstances which brought her here. 

The lights dip low and the aspect ratio of the screen changes slowly. And Yamy digs a pizza box out of her bag and balances it on the armrest behind the drink. 

“How did that fit in your bag?” Meiqi asks. The toppings are mostly still adhered and haven’t slithered off to gather in a sloppy mess against one edge of the cardboard. Yamy already has a mouthful of pizza as she shushes Meiqi and at this point it just makes sense to grab a slice herself and pretend she cares about this film.

The cheese is dense and stodgy but it holds the toppings in place well and Meiqi has never eaten as carefully as this before. 

##  hello friend, drink coffee in a museum 

“I don't get it,” Siyeon says. 

Kyungwon wishes that Siyeon would understand because it isn't as though she understands very well either. Everything is very old and pretty in the exhibit but it would be better if one or both of them had a proper interest in history. It is strange because Kyungwon is sure she used to find things like this very interesting when she was younger but all the comprehension must have leaked out of her ears as she aged. 

Kyungwon sips her coffee and pretends to read the information plaque besides something which she can only imagine is a torture device of some description. 

“Do you get it?” Siyeon asks.

Feigning surprise seems to be a wise move so Kyungwon does that. It must be possible to look aside though she was so engrossed in the museum displays that she wasn't even listening to Siyeon. 

“Whatever are you talking about? The information is beside everything in here.”

“No,” Siyeon says, “not this. I mean I don't get why you would bring me here at all. Is it a dare? Did you claim to be more intellectual than you are and now we're stuck on a date at a museum.”

“We're totally intellectual,” Kyungwon says. It even sounds silly to her but her mum was very nice about the way she gave Kyungwon the tickets to the museum and has asked several times since whether they had been used yet. The tickets were good for a year and no time seemed like a good time to use them until they almost expired. 

Kyungwon has another sip of coffee. It reminds her of their first few dates together where things were awkward and she never really knew whether they were on the same page about things. It was a long while before Siyeon copped to not actually liking coffee and truthfully Kyungwon prefers the varieties that are loaded with sugar but even now she drinks it out of habit because it was cool to drink it and feel grown-up when she was in school. 

Maybe only drinking coffee to pretend to be grown-up and sophisticated doesn't count as an intellectual pursuit. 

“Us two?” Siyeon says pointedly. “We're intellectual?”

There is no need to be so incredulous about it but Kyungwon can't even bring herself to try to be convincing about how intellectual they both are. Instead she passes her coffee to Siyeon. 

“I don't like coffee,” Siyeon says flatly. 

“We should try new things. Do something different together. That's seems like an intellectual thing to do.”

Siyeon looks unsure but she accepts Kyungwon's cup. “I have already tried lots of coffee. I already know that I don't like it.”

Siyeon still tastes it anyway. She pulls a face at the taste and passes it back before opening the information leaflet and pointing out there is an exhibit which is set up like a miniature escape room. That sounds very intellectual so they head there without having to discuss the decision.

 

##  how about you have lunch with cats while you wait

It is a day off so Daniel decides that all his meal prep can’t go to waste. He takes his lunch over to where Rooney and Peter’s bowls are and he sits cross-legged on the floor beside them. Rooney looks suspicious and Daniel and slinks a few metres away to watch what he is doing but Peter tries to see what Daniel is treating himself to. 

“This is only for me. It is human food. You have your own special bowls to eat from.”

It isn’t certain what the trigger word was here but Rooney watches Peter’s efforts for a few moments before she decides to join in with bothering Daniel and appeal for scraps. Daniel is a sensible man so he doesn’t let the cats eat his food even if he doesn’t get to eat any himself because he must lift it far out of their reach. They don’t lose interest as easily as he hopes.

“I only came here because I didn’t think you would behave well over at the table. I will be cross if I have to go over there to eat alone.”

Rooney acknowledges this by nipping at Daniel’s knee. It isn’t very nice but he hasn’t the heart to tell her off for it. It is a difficult lunch but it is nice to spend time with the cats even for a little while. Daniel sets his food aside and makes sure there are pictures of them enjoying their food so he can show Jisung later how civilised they all are.

##  all right, cut stars with scissors  

“Are you sure Yamy will be surprised?” Meiqi asks. The is very good at lots of things but none of those skills lend themselves well to using scissors. Aojuan sighs and shows her again what is apparently the proper way to cut the shapes so they are identifiable. 

It is too difficult and Meiqi’s hand is cramping and somewhere along the course of the afternoon she got glue stuck in her hair. 

“I don’t know if this is a good idea. I bet she won’t even like it.”

Aojuan is quiet for a long moment and there is only the sound of precise snipping before she straightens her back and proudly holds up a green paper star. “It is a good idea because you don’t think she’d like it. She will be very surprised that you would do something so cute for her.”

“It is also useless,” Meiqi points out. 

The templates might make the task easier but it doesn’t make sense to craft such large pieces of confetti. Meiqi is even certain that Yamy would hate all these pointless stars being scattered around. Even Xuanyi scoffed and usually she is very supportive of Aojuan’s whimsy. Meiqi already feels embarrassed and she isn’t looking forward to shouting surprise with a selection of friends to cast these stars at Yamy just for something like a birthday. 

But Aojuan elbows Meiqi lightly.

“Cut out some more and then we can rest.”

Meiqi returns to cutting carefully and doesn’t ask why they couldn’t have bought pre-cut stars in case Aojuan has a terrible answer.

 

##  look, tell your friends about a cat in an elevator 

“Hi,” Jisung says when the doors open and he steps into the lift. He looks startled to see Daniel already standing in there but they live in the same building. They’re neighbours so it isn’t anything weird. 

“I was just going out for a run,” Daniel says. “You look… nice.”

It might be a minor white lie. Jisung looks tired and a bit ruffled. His surprise has melted down to tepid contentment. He smiles and leans against the rail as the doors close.

“I have had a bit of a weird day,” Jisung shrugs. “Things are a bit stressful right now.”

Jisung shouldn’t be stressed he should be happy and living a nice life. Daniel doesn’t know what he can do to rectify that but he isn’t even sure whether he is allowed to pry into something like this. 

“Do you want to hang out with me for a bit? Take your mind off it?” Daniel offers. 

Jisung smiles wryly and edges closer. “Aren’t you going on a run?”

Daniel is going out on a run and he is prepared for a long one with his extra long playlist and the water bottle he has with him. But he doesn’t want Jisung to be sad so he could go and run whenever he felt like. This is more serious than cardio health.

“I don’t mind changing my plans,” Daniel says. 

“I’m not coming on a run with you,” Jisung replies very seriously. 

“No, not like that,” Daniel says as he takes his phone out of his pocket. He has lots of photos and videos to hand. “We can go back upstairs. I mean, if you want.”

Jisung hesitates. 

“No pressure. I don’t to be weird or anything,” Daniel says quickly. 

“You’re not weird,” Jisung says. “I had to see an old friend today at work. Things didn’t go too well.”

“Oh.”

“It happens.”

It shouldn’t happen. Jisung shouldn’t ever have to see anyone who makes him talk in a funny wobbly voice while he hunches his shoulders awkwardly as though he isn’t allowed to be sad over things that have happened. But maybe Daniel’s thoughts are implying that he doesn’t want Jisung to be sad. He doesn’t want to control Jisung’s thoughts or anything. 

“You can be sad if you want.”

Jisung chuckles. “I am, don’t worry.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Daniel frowns. “I don’t want you to go through things that make you sad. You’re a good guy.”

“You’re a good guy,” Jisung replies. “You’re really kind even though you don’t know me that well. You listen even though it must be a hassle talking to me.”

“Don’t say that,” Daniel interrupts. They’ve reached the ground floor but neither of them step out as the doors open. Jisung’s gaze shifts to the open door and then back to Daniel. This is something. At least he is listening, so Daniel presses on. Perhaps excessively. “I love talking to you. I love listening to you. It is more of a hassle when you aren’t talking. All three of us love it when you talk.”

The elevator doors close. “The three of us?”

“Peter,” Daniel says quietly. He clutches his phone tighter. “And Rooney. They love listening to you talk to.”

“Isn’t it just because we tried to make ice cream for them that one time?”

“Ice cream that makes them sick would obviously make them dislike you, but they don’t, they love you. In fact, Rooney asked me to show you this adorable picture of the two of them where they miss you.”

Jisung laughs even before he sees the very serious image of the two cats snoozing. He laughs louder when he sees it and Daniel can’t help laughing too. Jisung’s laugh is nice, like it is being surprised out of him and he is glad of it. Daniel is glad of it too. It makes him happy too.  

“See,” Daniel chuckles, “They miss you.”

The lift starts moving up the floors again but Jisung doesn’t even react and swipes through to the gallery of Daniel’s cats. Mostly of them lounging around and Rooney being more camera-shy but Jisung gives all the pictures the respect they deserve. 

“I miss them too,” Jisung says. “They’re beautiful.”

“They probably want more time to cuddle you. I think they’d pose for more pictures too if you held them.”

Daniel doesn’t add that it is because Peter, as pretty as she is, is a fan of clawing at every part of Daniel that is within reach whereas she behaved very nicely whenever she was within Jisung’s grasp during his visits. It is better to leave the impression of his cats as a good one. Jisung deserves to consider how lovely it would be to sit with the cats and relax. 

“Saying hello to your cats sounds a lot better than what I had planned.”   
“What was that?” Daniel asks before he can think about how nosey he sounds. Jisung passes Daniel back his phone and looks sheepish as he says, “I was going to get take out and watch sad movies on netflix.”

“How many sad movies did you plan to watch?” Daniel is curious and he has already oversepped a line so this won’t make a difference. 

“Maybe not even a whole one. I don’t like sad movies much so I would keep looking for something different.”

“Rooney is really good at picking out movies,” Daniel offers. “I bet she’d find something that you’d enjoy.”

Jisung looks thoughtful. “I was only really planning on feeling sorry for myself. How does she choose movies?”

The elevator stops and the doors open. It is the floor just below Daniel’s, two above Jisung’s, and a neighbour awkwardly acknowledges them as they step on. Jisung smiles tightly.

“Maybe after your run-”

“I’ll skip it,” Daniel says. “We can grab takeout and try to convince Rooney that she isn’t entitled to any even if she picks something good to watch.”

Daniel wonders if maybe this is the wrong thing to do - worse than getting rejected in front of one of their neighbours Daniel wonders whether the presence of someone else is more pressure for Jisung and just a reason against saying no because of pity. It would be nice if lines defined things and let him know what is the right course of action, whether Jisung really does want the burden of this friendship, and Daniel thinks he must look hopeless because Jisung smiles and says, “I feel kind of bad. If we do this now maybe next time we should try to go on a run together.”

##  you can listen to their voice forever

“You’re not listening to me,” Meiqi says. Yamy takes her time with schooling her expression into something neutral than the goofy smile which rested easily on her face until Meiqi noticed. 

She has been saying very important things about how she is narrowing down the sock thief to Chaoyue (she acts very suspiciously whenever Meiqi mentions her disappearing socks) or Xuanyi (who has definitely been spotted rifling through Meiqi’s sock drawer) and she had been hoping for more intel from Yamy. And also attention.

“I’m listening,” Yamy says. “You have nice socks. I know what you’re talking about.”

“Then where am I thinking of hiding them?”

Yamy shuffles on the sofa and rests her head on her arm. She looks sleepy so if she is tired she should just say so and admit to not listening. But rather than admitting as much she says, “You tell me, you haven’t said that yet.”

The question was a test. Meiqi guesses it must be a pass so she continues her theories and plans for a while longer. But Yamy is still looking at Meiqi the same way, smiling as though this sock mystery is anything to be happy about. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Meiqi asks because she feels a bit shy. 

“Like what?” Yamy asks. 

“I don’t know,” Meiqi shrugs. “You’re just… looking at me.”

“I’m listening,” Yamy says. “I like it when you talk so I am listening very very closely.”

“I like it when you talk too,” Meiqi says. But she doesn’t think she  _ looks _ at Yamy like this all the time. 

“Keep talking,” Yamy says. She closes her eyes and says, “I am listening. Tell me anything.”

##  look, write a haiku about a girl in summer 

It is hot. Yamy thinks that snoozing is a great way to spend time. The blinds against the window are closed to block out the sunlight but it is still pushing its way around the edges, blinding beams of light that it is better to look away from. 

Meiqi is a far better sight, just as blindingly with her beauty but she is something Yamy is happy to see on the insides of her eyelids whenever she blinks. 

Meiqi smiles even though she is supposed to be sleeping. They are both supposed to be napping because they decided it was too hot to do anything else. 

Yamy almost traces the curve of Meiqi’s mouth and her hands hesitate over the slow puffs of air.

Her mind is working to take the entire sight in, to imagine hoe a touch would feel if she weren’t so afraid of disturbing Meiqi as they lie together in the static heat.

##  hello, curl up under a blanket and tell someone about kittens 

It isn’t cold at all. In fact Daniel is already sweating through his drowsiness and his clothes are twisted uncomfortably around his limbs and his trunk because of how he is lying. It isn’t cold but Daniel pulls the blanket closer and his hands bunch under his chin with the fuzzy fabric. Jisung doesn't seem cold either. He looks a bit pink but he doesn’t tell Daniel to get rid of the blanket. He wriggles a smidge closer and laughs quietly. 

“I keep expecting your cats to pop up and appear to bother us. They like butting in.”

“They like you,” Daniel says. “They want you to spoil them lots and lots.”

“That sounds difficult,” Jisung says thoughtfully. “How do I know I am not spoiling them too much?”

“There's no such thing,” Daniel says untruthfully. It is exceptionally easy to spoil the cats but Daniel doesn't mind Jisung doing as much. “They will only love you more and more.”

“That’s very nice of them that they’re willing to keep loving me.”

“Yeah,” Daniel says. “From a distance sometimes. But it’s still love, right? Sometimes they will even sit with you for like an hour.

“A whole hour?” Jisung asks. His voice is hushed. It’s nice. It is late and they can be quiet in Jisung’s flat. 

“Maybe not a whole hour,” Daniel allows. “Maybe if they’re sleeping. They’re really cute when they sleep. Like even if they decide to sleep right in the middle of my bed they’re still cute.”

“I know,” Jisung says. “They’re even cute when they’re trying to suffocate me.”

Daniel is only pretending not to know that both of his cats have been curious about Jisung and have attempted to see how comfortable a seat his head is. The pillows are obviously a much more comfortable choice and Daniel has tried to make the cats see that but he hasn’t always been awake when they decide to nose around the bedroom. It is much easier here in Jisung’s flat where there are no cats to try to suffocate either of them. 

**Author's Note:**

> i have a [twitter](https://twitter.com/SEpupppupp) where i mostly complain about not knowing what to write despite all the things that i "want" to write.


End file.
